A point made at the InsideCounsel SuperConference by Kraig Washburn, the General Counsel of Flexera, is sound. He includes in his corporate headcount one or two contract lawyers who have been working for him for a long time. They do not get benefits, it is true, but it gives a more accurate picture of the law department to count them as employed lawyers.
Otherwise, benchmark ratios such as lawyers per unit of revenue or outside counsel spend per lawyer, or paralegals per lawyer will be distorted. Even more, the legal function mis-represents itself within the company.